Linda Riebe, Dean Roepen, Bruno Santarelli and Gary Marchioro
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on improvements to professional teaching practice within an undergraduate university business programme to more effectively…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on improvements to professional teaching practice within an undergraduate university business programme to more effectively teach an employability skill and enhance the student experience of teamwork.
Design/methodology/approach
A three‐phase approach to teaching teamwork was introduced. Tuckman's model of team development was explicitly taught and used as the conceptual framework for the student teamwork process. Assessments were constructively aligned to address team skills and engage students in team processes. A questionnaire was developed to guide team member expectations of teamwork. Two online surveys tracked the development of student team skills and were used in feedback loops for student learners and facilitators. The use of reflective weblogs provided insights to student perspectives.
Findings
Student engagement in teamwork was aided by the use of team surveys to assist students to explicitly make connections with the generic skills underpinning effective teamwork and a questionnaire to establish team norms. The teaching strategies employed developed a greater level of awareness in students, contributing to the development of their team skills.
Practical implications
The student experience of working in teams can be enhanced by providing a clear, conceptual framework for developing team skills. The teaching practices implemented can be replicated and address student perceptions of working in teams in order to effect positive change and develop transferable team skills.
Originality/value
The case study highlights the applicability of explicitly teaching team skills to positively enhance the student experience in a unique generic skills programme.
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Keywords
Carl Senior and Robert Cubbidge
The purpose of this paper is to place all of the contributions to this special issue into a theoretical framework and to highlight the role that the so‐called “information age…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to place all of the contributions to this special issue into a theoretical framework and to highlight the role that the so‐called “information age mindset” has in the facilitation of employability skills.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the major themes of this special issue.
Findings
Undergraduate students do see the importance of technological innovation in the classroom but they see the development of experiential or work‐based skills to be more important.
Practical implications
Future curriculum design should consider the expectations and attitudes of the modern day undergraduate student to ensure that potential employability is maximised.
Originality/value
The findings are placed into the wider context of the emerging field of evolutionary educational psychology.
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Krishna Regmi, Jennie Naidoo and Sharada Regmi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of discrimination in the workplace; and to draw general lessons, which might help to develop appropriate policies to reduce…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of discrimination in the workplace; and to draw general lessons, which might help to develop appropriate policies to reduce discrimination in the workplace setting.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed‐methods approach was used in the research, which consisted of self‐administrated questionnaires (n = 115), in‐depth interviews (n = 10) and group consultations (n = 20).
Findings
The paper provides empirical evidence that workers continue to face subtle forms of discrimination despite the implementation of numerous Employment Acts, designed to protect employees from unequal treatment due to their gender or ethnic origin. Workers' perceptions of discrimination were found to be positively associated with increased stress, intentions to seek new employment positions, and decreased satisfaction, commitment and citizenship behaviours. More education and awareness, coupled with changing managers' and employees' attitudes, perceptions and behaviours in today's organizations, are important strategies in tackling discrimination and promoting a more diverse workforce.
Originality/value
This paper brings together a number of important themes, highlighting and synthesising the complex relationship between discrimination and its manifestations, and its impact on discriminated‐against individuals and groups in terms of access to, and progression within, the labour market. Research assistants from the target group were employed. This innovative research method not only enabled authors to get closer to the knowledge and experience of the target groups in relation to the barriers affecting these groups but also empowered them and enhanced the research.
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Safoora Pitsi, Jon Billsberry and Mary Barrett
This paper contributes to leadership categorization theory by advocating a new method to surface people's implicit leadership theories. The purpose of this new approach is to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper contributes to leadership categorization theory by advocating a new method to surface people's implicit leadership theories. The purpose of this new approach is to simultaneously capture individual difference in how they conceptualize leadership but within a common framework to allow for comparison of within- and between-person effects.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a narrative review of the implicit leadership theory, leadership categorization theory, cognitive mapping and verbal protocol literature with the purpose of surfacing a research method that will overcome the problems of over-simplification and over-individualization in existing methods.
Findings
The authors argue that using a combination of cognitive mapping and verbal protocols can capture the idiosyncrasies of individual lay theories of leadership while retaining the ability to compare people's responses through a common framework. The authors provide an example of how this method can be used to elicit people's perceptions of one aspect of implicit leadership theories, intelligence.
Research limitations/implications
This new method will provide a methodology to test the subset propositions advocated by leadership categorization theory. These include the idea that subordinate level implicit leadership theories contain a subset of attributes found in the basic-level implicit leadership theories, that there is attribute integrity in superordinate implicit leadership theories through the levels, and the idea that people define leadership differently depending on the context they are observing.
Originality/value
Whereas previous approaches to surfacing people's implicit leadership theories either heavily constrain their responses with a predetermined generic suite of attributes or are totally open-ended and idiosyncratic, the authors advocate an approach that combines the best of both.